“We had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” –1 Thessalonians 2:2
Paul knew what he was talking about. When we examine the biblical biography of Paul we quickly learn that his whole story was immersed in conflict. He was in conflict as a non-Christian as he purposed in his heart to live in battle against the church of Jesus Christ. After a dramatic, grace-filled conversion to Christ he found himself in immediate conflict with his fellow Hebrews. They were stunned and angered at his apparent betrayal in becoming a Christian. The church herself was very suspicious of Paul and it took years for him to be heartily embraced by those whom he formerly persecuted. He began to share the gospel, plant churches, train leaders and write Scripture. Best I can tell, not a season went by when there was not something going on in his life that threatened to undo the great apostle.
Ultimately, they imprisoned him, found him guilty of crimes against the Roman empire and took off his head in execution. Oh, by the way, where Paul is today…there is absolutely no conflict at all.
May God grant us the ability today to accept our difficulties in life. I pray that as earnestly for myself as I do for you. I find this insatiable desire for a greater ease is constantly beating at the door of my heart. Let there be no misunderstandings! No accusations! No weaknesses, deprivation or delay! The results must be evident and immediate and I should not have to sweat or bleed or weep. Do you ever hear that demanding, bratty voice in your head? Perhaps we should go back and take a long, hard look at the testimonies of the saints in Scripture and church history in order to be reacquainted with this simple spiritual truth: it ain’t supposed to be easy.
Nothing worth doing with your life is easy. If there is no price to be paid then there is no value to be assigned. Cost is hinged to worth, and the less something demands of us as believers then the less it will ultimately mean to us. I’m obviously not including our salvation in this line of thought because it could not be paid for with the greatest thing we might dare to offer. i would add, however, that it is a lie to say that your salvation costs you nothing. In a sense, it cost you your whole life when you declared yourself dead to self and alive in Jesus Christ. Let’s agree on this: doing right doesn’t always receive applause. Pouring yourself into people is occasionally (often?) met with a response that fails to appraise your investment properly. The things that motivate your heart intently may very well be met with shrugs from others who don’t see things the way that you see them. By the way, they are likely amazed that you don’t share their zeal over what happens to stir their soul. There is also this added element to consider for the followers of Christ: we never harvest in the same season we plant. We have been conditioned by our culture to presume immediate results from our labors. Interestingly, God does promise some form of reward for well-doing but He doesn’t always specify when it will come. I want us to remember that the vast majority of reward will not be experienced in this life; Jesus taught us to lay up treasure in Heaven and, if you are reading this, then you are not yet in Heaven. He promises that He is not going to forget our work and labor of love (Hebrews 6:10) so please don’t miss greater opportunities for the future as you might be tempted to be looking for a payoff in the present.
Ultimately, the most precious result of our pursuit of God in His glory is that we know Him increasingly. As I write these words I am confident that I need the awareness of his face more so than the activity of His hand. Truly, I crave both yet I am learning that while I can live with His present face and absent hand…I cannot live with his present hand and absent face. Personal communion must become more important to us than active, outward blessing. Christian friend, we used to sing a song that says, “It will be worth it all…when we see Jesus…life’s toils will seem so small…when we see Christ…one glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase…so let us run the race…’till we see Christ.”
It will be worth it all? No, my friend, it’s worth it all right now.